Measurement of Force in Personnel Parachute Risers

Parachute designers and manufacturers have long sought to obtain force data exerted on parachute risers during the various stages of deployment and flight. This data can provide valuable insight to help evaluate service life, new parachute development, and aid in computer modeling of parachute systems. Current techniques for measuring riser force require significant modification of the risers by the manufacturer and do not capture forces exerted on the individual risers. This poses several problems including risk to the paratrooper, increased program time, and increased program costs to implement the modified riser. DAngelo Technologies, LLC (D5T) proposes to provide the Army with new methods to capture data on parachute riser systems capable of measuring the static (load) and dynamic (vibration) forces exerted on each individual riser during the deployment process, including the opening shock event.